Mazeppa Man Arrested For Chasing Man With A Machete in Rochester

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - A Mazeppa man who called 911 to report an incident in Rochester Wednesday ended up in jail after investigators determined he was the perpetrator, not the victim.

Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Scott Behrns says officers were first notified about “a fight in progress” on East Circle Dr. near the entrance to Quarry Hill Nature Center. The caller reported seeing a man armed with a machete chasing another man. The man with the machete also tried running over the other man with his vehicle.

Behrns says the two were gone when deputies arrived but they then received a call from 40-year-old Michael Riess who said he was the one who was chasing the other man. But Riess also said he was the victim, not the other man. Riess said the other man had been threatening his family.

Investigators later learned Riess had first encountered the other man on a rural road east of Rochester. The other man was driving a motorcycle and Riess chased him until the two got into the confrontation near Quarry Hill Nature Center.